Geobge f



G. F. LONG.

BUMPER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLrcATIoN man SEPT. 5, |915,

nnrrnn sTATns PATENT onirica.

GEDRGE F. LONG, OF NEW YORK, IN. Y.

BUMPER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Y To all 'whom t may conce/m Be it known that l, GEORGE F. LONG, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, in the county oi Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements iu Bumpers for Automobiles, of which the following is provide a simplified type of bun'iper which can be constructed cheaply so as to be marketed. at a relatively low cost.

incidental to this general; object it is among further desiderata to provide a device of the class described which can be readily constructed from. standard stock material; which may be formed of relatively few' arts and which parts can be formed and assembled in position with the minimum amountl of machining or other expensive me chanical operation.

A further object of the invention is to .provide a type of bumper with high resiliency sensitive to an pressure exerted thereon but which willge suliciently rugged to resist abnormally heavy shocks within the capacity of the device.

Another vobject of the invention is to provide a device vof the class described, which rwill transmit and diiuse over the entire device, any` localized shock imposed thereon at any point along its length.

Various other objects and advantages of the :invention will be in part obvious from an Iinspection of the accompanying drawings and in part will be more fully set forth in the following particular description of one form of mechanism embodying my invention, and the invention also consists in certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the 4accompanying drawings: 'Figure l is a fragmentary View in plan oi the forward portion of an automobile showing a preferred embodiment ci my inn vention attached theretog Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 3, 1919,

Application filed September 5, 1916. Serial No. 118,466. i

. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line and' showing the bumper in elevation; and

ltig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of one of the holding brackets.

In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identified by specific names for convenience ot' expression but they are intended to be as generic in their.

parts as the 'art will l so as to form a large bearing surface between the bracket and its adjacent sill when the brackets tend to approach each other. The brackets are held in position by means of bolts 7 passed through bolt holes 8 and are positioned above and below the side sills and connected on theopposite side by means of a tie plate 9 so as Ato form a boxing about the sills. This arrangen'ient 'pern'lits a ready adjustment of the brackets longitudinally of the side sills, so as to provide any desired Ytransverse angularity to the bumper mechanism and provides a slight degree of flexibility to the brackets in a horizontal plane transversely .of the vehicle. The forward end of each oi the brackets is formed into a flat horizontal bearing plate 11 and is provided centrally thereof with al pivoting hole 12. A vertically disposed pivoting pin 13, preferably in the form of a headed bolt, is positioned in theholc 12 and is held in place by 4the lock nuts 14. The primary shock absorbing element ot' the bumper is in the iorm of a rod 15 possessing any desired resiliency best suited for the character of machine to which it is to be attached. The rod illustrated is circular in cross section and extends transversely across the front of the vehicle between and beyond the pivot pins The portions of the rod at each of the plus are wrapped one in clock-wise and the other in an anti clockwise direction 1 5 invention, jit may b 'circumstances, to'

I 50'Ward toward the about the pins so as to form pivoting loops\ 16 about each pin. The free ends, of the rod are bent into closed eyes 17 encircling end pivotpiiis or small bolts 18 .While the device. is operative with but one rod,`a structure may be ormed'o any number of these rods built up vertically, and in the drawings, two such rods are illustrated. In this arrangement the loop portions of the rods. at each pin are' oil'set verf tically in opposite directions and looped about the 'pins as shown more particularly in Fig. 2. f While vit 'is not an essential feature of e desirable, under some fasten the -rods together' and for lthis purposestraps=-19 are shown loopedabout' the rods, which strapsare de-y .mountably `held '.in plac'e by 'screws 20. i Infoperation and assuming that the rod comes in c'ontact'with an object at the point ,indicated at 'Ain Fig. 1, it will 'be under- 5` stood that the tendency of the rod will be to bend inward in a curve depending upon the 2'5 direction, placeof application and intensity ofthe shock. vThis will cause a'swinging of opposite sidesofthe'bar about the pivot pins with a tendenc fof the pins to move toward each other.- he shock at any place along the len hof the rod will -bctransitted initial y across the entire `length of hould there be a greater shock at the point thanv previously suggested, then there will be atendency for the outer ends-of the-'brackets themselves to bend inwardly toward eachother, and should-the 'shock be of even greater ,magnitude the tendency of .the heavy side sills will be to bend slightly. toward each other. In this 40 way there is lprovided a type of bumperparticularly sensitive. to light thrusts but capav ble of vprogressively absorbing shocks of greater and greater intensity and an shock will be'absorbed so long as the chassis itself will sustain such distorting shocks.

Should the rod come in contact with its obstacle at the point B `to the outside of the pivots, the tendency pf the free end ofthe rod receiving the shock will be to swing invehicle and aboutthe' ad -jacent pivot. In'this case the shock will be transnntted 'more particularlyy through the adjacent .bracket and iback to the chassis of `the vehicle.

By adjusting the position of the brackets on the side sills any desired. angular adjustmentof 'the rod relative tothe vehicle may be provided and by varying the lengths of the projecting "portions of thebracket's'on the side sills the resiliency of the buli'er may be varied somewhat.

It is obvious that by means ofa device of l this character all of the parts may beii'eadilyy formed, without any expensive or rened fit-5 machining; the brackets may be readily invention.

vtendm forwardl 'vertica lyv disposed pivot pins carried by sitesides of swinging action about the adjacent pivot" pin.

two horizont f spacedv apart pi `stamped 4or cast and it is a simple operation to"bend lthe rods into their pivoting loo ny desired resiliency may be provided varying the character of stock in the rod and any desired strength of structure may be attained simplyby multiplying the number of.. rods used. Even if the rod should be set or bent out of shape, formed with pivoting loopsandreadi y substituted for the old rod.- l

While I have shown have pointed out in the tain novel vfeatures of be understood that va stitutions and chan es in the fo'imand details of the devicei lustrated and in its operation -inay be made b' those skilled -in the art without departing annexed claims, cerrious omission Having thus describe d my invention, I claim a new rod may be uickly and described, and

my invention, it willv l.

s, subrom the spirit of the 1.- The combination with a vehicle having i two horizontally y therefrom, an a air of said supports, of a bumper extending transversely of the vehicle and including a resilient rod having portions adjacent o posite ends formed into loops encirclin sai pivot p ins, whereby portions of the rogls on oppoeach pin are permitted a sli 2. The combination with a vehicle having ally spaced apart supports 'exforwardly therefrom, and a air of tendin veitica l sai sup versely dl* the ent rod having portions ad ends formed intol pins, whereby portio'neof the posite sides of each pin are ermitteda slight swinging action about tie adjacent pivot pin and mealsi encircled ily-ono cffliie' eeendsofsaidr e combination with a vehicle,two

Jacent opp'site rods bn. op-

3. Th spaced apart pivot pins, of a bum ing said posed parallel to each otherand' po. ii`tioned close together with the rod's looped about each pivot pin andextending. in opposite directions therebeyoiid.l I

4. The combination with a vehicle, two'.

vot pins, 'of a bumper engaging said. pins and comprising two rods diss posed parallel to each oth one abnQve`the other, c'lOse ro s looped about each for fastening' the rods unitary structure.

5. a device of theel combination slightly resil sorbing together with the pivot toget er to` form a with a vehicl ient supports, bumper formed -of e'iicIudiii 'two of a .shoe ab a plurality of as descritta; ai@

spaced apart su ports exids Oops encirclingsaid pivot r. eng vpins and comprising two-rds dl--` izo er and positionedV I iso' i rods each pivoted intermediate its ends to said supports and extendin transversely thereof and the ends thereof eing free.

6.*In a devicevof the class described, a

bumper including a plurality of rods disposed substantially in parallelism and capable ofslight relative movement at certain placesalong their lengths, means for pivotally supporting the rods intermediate their ends and means for alinin and fastening together `the free ends of said rods.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a vehicle including two spaced apart side sills extending forwardly therefrom, brackets carried by the outer side 4 of said sills adjacent their forward ends,

means for adjustably fastening said brackets to said sills longitudinally thereof and a shock absorbing member pivoted to said .brackets and having free ends extending be- -yond their pivotal connections with the brackets.

8. In a device of the class described, a shock absorbing member including a resilient rod bent intermediate its end to form two spaced apart pivoting loops and means for engaging the loops to support the same.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 29 day of August, A. D. 1916.

GEORGE F. LONG.

"Witness H. F. WHITE. 

